


Playing the Dating Game

by CallipygianGoldfish



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, OT3, Polyamory, Propositions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 16:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5671924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallipygianGoldfish/pseuds/CallipygianGoldfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky and Tony definitely don’t know each other. Steve’s quite sure about that- they live in different parts of town, run in different circles, and only really have Steve in common.</p>
<p>So how come they both seem to be currently plotting some devious plan against him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Playing the Dating Game

Steve has this friend, Bucky, who he considers his best friend. They've known each other since childhood, and they know pretty much everything about each other. Steve thought this might include his unrequited crush on Bucky, but maybe it didn't, since nothing has ever really changed between them. Bucky was the guy who stood with Steve to face the world, a solid presence, and the man who generally tried to get Steve out of the scrapes he normally got himself into.

Steve has another friend, Tony. Tony is the sort of guy that everyone knows, some people like, and most people could just about stand for a few minutes. Exasperating, quick to learn and enthusiastic, somehow Steve liked the guy enough for him to become his next closest friend after Bucky. It was somewhat strange, how they had met at work and just melded together perfectly, but Steve didn't protest. Plus, Tony's kind of handsome.

Now, Steve's quite comfortable with his life. It's got the things he needs, an okay apartment with a functioning roof, a great group of friends, and a stable job. Being a security advisor wasn't exactly the sort of thing he'd envisioned when asked as a teenager what he'd like to do for the rest of his life, but it worked. 

Sam had dragged him into it, citing good pay and good work, which surprisingly they both found interesting enough to continue with. Tony had appeared one day, answering a new vacancy advert and swearing he'd be the best tech expert they would ever come across, and they'd gone from there. They were good enough at finding the weak spots in other people's systems to build a good clientele, and Steve had found himself working later and later nights, just to fit in his workload.

Leaving the office late one evening, he checked his phone to find a text waiting from Bucky.

_Where are you??_

Shit. Groaning, Steve hefted his bag onto his shoulder and set off quickly towards the subway. Of all the times to forget his and Bucky's standing drinks evening, it had to be the one that Steve had promised to attend. He vaguely recollected himself pledging his full support to Bucky's next gig, even if it was just their local bar. Stand-up comedy wasn't something Steve knew much about, but Bucky was funny and quickly rising in Brooklyn and beyond, even if most of his jokes were based on trying to get Steve out of trouble...

His traitorous phone told him Bucky's lot had already finished, and as he arrived at Nat's he shot a look through the window to see if Bucky was still there. Sure enough, there he was, propping up their corner of the bar. Natasha was behind the counter practicing pulling pints with her new blond barman, the scary looking dude in the corner was there as normal, there were another few couples at the bar, and then Steve stopped walking. Surely he'd mistaken that?

Backing up, he looked again at Bucky, who was in the process of talking to another guy. Recognizing Bucky's trademark flirtatious smile, Steve squinted closer at the other man. Because goddamnit, he'd recognize that goatee anywhere. 

Tony was sat close to Bucky at the bar, fingers tracing his glass and laughing at something the other man had said. They looked as if they'd been there for a while, quite comfortable with each other's presence. And looking very friendly with each other. Very, very friendly. In fact, Bucky's leg was tucked neatly between Tony's knees, and there was slightly too much eye contact for Steve's liking. He felt a swoop of jealousy in his stomach, and then realized he couldn't tell who it was for. Steeling himself, Steve opened the door and wandered slowly over to them, nodding at Natasha on the way.

“Ah, Steve!” Bucky noticed him approaching, subtly extracting his leg and swiveling on his stool to face Steve. “Nice of you to make it, at last.” Bucky's last few words held an edge to them, but he grinned at Steve and shunted back to make room for him.

“Yeah, sorry Buck, got caught up,” Steve said hurriedly, grabbing a stool to sit between them to form a triangle. “I'm really sorry I missed your home gig, by the way, subway and stuff.”

“More like taking on too much work.” Tony raised his eyebrows at Steve. “Was it the Xavier case again? I keep telling you, there's not much else we can do, their system already works.”

“And yet he's still paying us for it. Hey, I do not have too much on,” Steve said indignantly. Both men gave him a scathing look that said the complete opposite. And oh god, when did they both become so attractive?

Bucky rolled his eyes and gestured towards the other end of the bar. “You want something? We're probably going to be here a while, catching up on old times, that sort of thing.”

“Old times? What do you mean?” Steve was puzzled, sure he'd never introduced them both before. He’d remember such a disaster.

“You know, what's been happening, how we are, that sort of thing,” Tony said, picking up his glass and slipping off his chair to head over for the drinks.

“Riiiight…” Steve drew the word out, staring at Bucky's poker face and trying to think around this. Nope, not happening. “How'd you two know each other then? Met recently or something?”

“Nah, Steve, what're you talking about?” Bucky gave him a quizzical look. “Why wouldn't I know Tony?”

“Because, I don't know, you've never talked about him?”

“'Course not, why should I need to? We've all known each other since we were in elementary school, you idiot.” 

“Uh, no?” Steve found himself wondering if he'd somehow been teleported to an alternate universe, because really, that would make more sense than this right now. “We really didn't?”

“Sure we did,” Tony chose to break in, returning and sliding a drink across to both Bucky and Steve. His preferred beer, he noted, and Bucky's was his own favorite as well. “Remember, you all came to my tenth birthday party? It was a blast, wasn't it Barnes?”

“Yep, sure was,” Bucky looked as if he was enjoying himself a little too much. “You know, we can always call Rikki, she was there too.”

Steve can hardly comprehend what was happening. “Your sister knows about a party that definitely didn't happen more than a decade ago?”

“Yep,” said Bucky, pulling out his phone and dialing his sister. “Hey girl, I don't suppose you could tell Stevie about Tony's birthday party we all went to when we were ten? He seems to be having some memory issues.” He passed the phone to Steve with an expectant look, and Steve received it cautiously. 

“Hey Rikki. Uh, this is weird, but-”

“Hi Steve! Yeah Bucky said, did you hit your head or something? It was great! I swear it was my first proper party, a massive cupcake stand with all the candles in, lots of streamers too, but we had such a problem getting Tony a present.” Rikki sighed down the line, and Steve gave up trying to understand. “Was that all, or was there something else?”

“No, that's fine Rikki, thanks. Bye,” Steve set the phone down. 

Bucky sniffed dramatically and stared into the distance. “Ah yes, I remember it well. That cake was amazing, I'd never forget that. Best chocolate cake of my life.”

“Best non-existent cake you mean.” Steve said, finally catching up. “Seriously, Buck? You couldn't even decide on the cake details before asking her to cover for you? And Tony, I'm kinda hurt you're going along with this.”

“With what?” Tony grinned at him. “You feeling okay Steve? Had a bit too much to drink lately?”

“Okay, real funny. Quit it, how the hell did you two meet, and why didn't either of you tell me?” 

Bucky and Tony stared at each other for a second, before collapsing into laughter and cracking up. 

“Oh my god, your face! Best. Revenge. Game. Ever.” Bucky was laughing so hard he could hardly get the words out before he started coughing. Steve thumped him reluctantly on the back and looked expectantly at Tony, who slowly ceased his giggling and just smirked instead. 

“Don't ask me, I just go along with him. I think it was something to do with you being late though,” he said, nudging Bucky. “C'mon Barnes, talk to your man.”

“Tony sought me out,” Bucky said, having finally stopped nearly choking and nodding towards the stage he'd come off a few hours earlier. “He'd stopped by for a drink and thought some of my script was a little too familiar. Because really, there are only a number of people who are as stubborn as you.”

“Thanks.” Steve said mulishly, staring into his glass. He'd need a few more before the night was out, he could already tell.

“Yeah, talking of which,” Tony frowned. “Did you really once jump out a three story building to rescue a cat?”

Steve spluttered. “I- okay, that's- Bucky, no.” He inhaled steadily and reminded himself that patience was key with both the men in front of him. “That's an exaggeration, I was on a fire escape. And the cat was fine in the first place, it just looked uncomfortable. And I had a soft landing, so let's move on.”

Bucky snorted. “Yeah, right. I was picking glass out your skull for hours afterwards.”

“It was a dumpster, it looked soft! How was I meant to know it had bottles in it?”

“You're as bad as Matt,” Bucky shook his head and turned to Tony. “So, any more amusing tales from your side of Stevie?”

“Not particularly, just the normal stuff I guess. But hey,” Tony leant forward to stage whisper conspiratorially in Bucky's ear. “Does he do that thing with you where his nose twitches when he's about to do something stupid?”

Bucky pretended to look surprised. “Why, as a matter of fact, he does! Imagine that. Does he say he won't do something and then do it five minutes later, hoping you've forgotten?”

“Oh boy, yes.”

“Okay, okay, guys you've made your point. How long have you been talking about me, hmm?” Steve had to make an effort not to pout, but really. He wasn't that bad. Was he?

“Ah, about three hours now. You've been a very interesting subject, I must admit.” Tony winked at Bucky, and with a start, Steve noticed a faint blush over Bucky's cheekbones. Well. That was interesting. 

“So we've had a bit of a chat, quite enlightening in fact,” Bucky said, suddenly very interested in finishing his drink. 

“Very enlightening.” 

“And we have a proposition for you, Stevie. Well, for all three of us really.” Finally looking up from his glass, Bucky slid his hand on the counter directly between him and Tony, in front of a wary Steve. Tony raised his eyebrows, sighed minutely, and nudged his own hand into Bucky's, thumb gently rubbing Bucky's palm.

“Why do I feel like I'm not going to like the sound of this?” Steve couldn't help feeling suspicious; the last time Bucky and Natasha teamed up against him, he couldn't think straight for the next two days due to his epic hangover. “A proposition about?”

“About you. And me, and him. See, it seems recently that whenever you're with one of us, you're pining for someone else,” Buck noted. “And that's weird, because uh, why the fuck should we know that?”

“And then it hit us. 'Cause I know you like me, and no straight person looks at my butt like they wanna eat it.” Tony said, running his tongue over his teeth. Steve tried hard not to stare. “We do have mirrors in the office Steve, you're not that subtle.”

“So here's an idea.” Bucky put his glass down with a thump and leant forward to look directly at Steve. “Date me.”

Steve thought he'd misheard. “What?”

“Like I said, date me.” Bucky was smiling impishly, like he was dangling a tempting carrot in front of Steve's nose. Was this a kind of sick game to them both? Obviously they knew about his feelings, and it was clear they'd developed some sort of emotion towards each other in the short time after they'd met, but this was just plain mean of them.

“Um, no.” Shaking his head in the hope of clearing it, Steve thought he was far too sober for this conversation. “You're obviously drunk Buck, go home and clear your head.”

“Okay then. If you won't date me, what about Tony?”

“Again, no. You're both doing this to fuck with me, and I really don't appreciate it. Neither of you have shown any inclination in the past, please. Just leave it alone.” Steve stood up, pushing his stool away and making to leave. It was late, and they were clearly too involved in whatever plan they’d concocted together to think clearly.

“No, wait.” Tony grabbed his arm and made Steve stop gathering his bag. “What about both?”

“Pardon?” Steve extracted his arm from Tony, but paused as both Bucky and Tony seemed to swallow their amusement and become more serious.

“I said, what about both? Specifically, consensually dating both me and Barnes, at the same time. And of course me and him would also be doing the same dating thing.”

“Like a one night stand but with three of us?” Steve frowned, already knowing the answer would be no. Bucky might be a flirt, but his relationships last until his partner leaves, never him.

“No.” Tony seemed sure in his decision. “Yes, three of us, but an actual relationship. Because Barnes was whining about his own unrequited love and I was thinking of you, and then bam, realization. Kill three birds with one stone, that sort of thing.”

“I uh, need time to process this,” Steve said, trying to get his head around the fact that his two crushes might not be unreciprocated. “You can't just spring this on me.”

“I dunno man, I mean, I've been waiting on you to act for the last, ooh, fifteen years? Personally I think it's now or never.” Bucky didn't seem to see the impact his words made on Steve's brain, which short-circuited. Unexpected confessions, whatever the kind, tend to do that.

“Right.” Steadying himself, Steve narrowed his eyes at them both. “Have either of you actually thought this through?

“Nope,” Tony said happily. “That's the fun part. Plain luck I came here tonight, we can either let you do nothing, or take our own chances. Barnes thinks you like both of us enough to go for it, is he wrong?”

“You really can't say you don't want us, right? I mean, he's hot,” Bucky gestured to Tony, “and I don't think I'm that bad either, you know.”

“Well, no,” Steve protested weakly, before blanching as his brain caught up with him. “I mean, no you're not bad looking, I like you, you’re my best friend, but you’re- oh god I'm going to stop digging myself a hole now.”

“You do that Rogers,” said Tony, nodding sagely. “In the meantime, think about all the benefits of such a relationship. No more pining, for one thing. And epic sex for another.”

“I, I can't.” Even to his own ears, Steve's protests sounded weak.

“Why not?” Tony looked at him earnestly. “Seems like a win-win situation to me. I like you Steve, you're hot and clever, even if you're a little stubborn. But you always seem like you can't flirt, like there's someone else holding you back. And if that's Bucky, then why not both? Fuck, if you don't want this, then sure as hell I'm dating Barnes, 'cause there's no way I'm passing up on that booty, no offense Barnes.” He directed his last few words to Bucky, who nodded proudly.

“No offense taken.”

Steve looked at them both, bathed in the cheap bar lighting but staring at him so intensely that Steve had to wonder what he had to lose. “You're serious about this then?”

“This might work,” Bucky said calmly. “I think it honestly could work out.”

“Yeah,” Steve took a deep breath. “It could.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! :) Feel free to come say hi on tumblr, callipygiangoldfish.tumblr.com


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